The Madalena Bakery, located on Rua de São Sebastião in Ribeira Grande, continues to bake in wood ovens, just as it did in the past. With over 100 years of tradition, the business is now run by siblings Mário and Maria Cordeiro.
On-site, we spoke to 37-year-old Maria Cordeiro, who said that Padaria Madalena “wants to continue to be known for its bread, chorizo rolls, fresh cakes, and excellent coffee.”
The wood-fired ovens bring back the flavors of yesteryear, much praised by everyone, especially tourists.
The bakers play their part, but preparing the oven requires patience and skill, such as “lighting it, heating it, waiting for it, and monitoring the temperature.”
The bakery supplies firewood twice a week.
The Madalena Bakery obtains firewood twice a week to ensure good production.
The sales station opens at 6 a.m. daily, and the brother is there then. Our interviewee arrives shortly after taking her daughter to nursery. The shop closes at 7 p.m. and continues to be a place for socializing.
The Madalena Bakery starts work at midnight with two dedicated bakers.
Mário and Maria Cordeiro’s father was a baker for many years, so their children want to keep the tradition. Their brother, Mário Cordeiro, reopened the Madalena Bakery eight years ago. After a health problem, he left his sister to run the business.
Padaria Madalena produces papo-secos, homemade bread, bifanas bread, chorizo bread, cereal bread, wholemeal bread and cornbread. Regarding sweets, there are picos or snowdrifts, cinnamon sticks, and croissants.
Picos ou nevões are a typical sweet from the island of São Miguel. These delicious sweets include a soft raisin, a coconut and egg filling, and a coconut topping. A variation of this sweet is the chocolate version, called picos de chocolate.
From 12 noon, the Madalena Bakery starts producing pão de tarte, a much sought-after delicacy that is available until 3 and a half in the afternoon.


Padaria Madalena doesn’t distribute because it has its own sales outlet and will continue to do so.
Maria Cordeiro says that “sales have been normal this year, but very different from last year, because of a technical problem with the oven,” and that “the weather didn’t help either, and the wood was too wet”. As a result, the business suffered a downturn, but it is now starting to recover. “This customer drop was worrying, but everything has been resolved, thank God,” he added.
“Tourists come and want sweets rather than bread, but there are also those who are more curious than others and want to see the wood-fired oven.”
Maria Cordeiro is a native of Ribeira Grande-Matriz, where she started out in elementary school and finished her studies at the Escola Profissional das Capelas.


Madalena Bakery only closes at Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
The Madalena Bakery works every day, from Sunday to Sunday, and only closes on the December 25th holiday, Christmas, and on the last day of the year, New Year’s Eve.
Maria Cordeiro also told our newspaper that she doesn’t take vacations. “I only know how to work and I like what I do, and in the time I have left, I take care of the housework.”
The future belongs to God, but Maria Cordeiro wants to “keep working so that the Madalena Bakery can have more customers.”
“Some days are better than others, but we always have to be optimistic, because tomorrow will certainly be better than today. If we’re healthy, we can work, which is what matters most.”
Bakeries continue to be essential in our society, as bread is a staple on the table of almost every family.


Marco Sousa-journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.